Racing Engineering driver Jordan King has been awarded Driver of the Year in the 2015 Young Driver Excellence Academy.

King, who is racing in this year’s GP2 Series alongside Alexander Rossi, was announced winner at the YDEA graduation ceremony in Austria this week. Judges were not only impressed by King’s speed and consistency throughout the process but also his knowledge and application to the safety procedures and his strong dedication to improve.

“Despite the high level of talent demonstrated by the Academy drivers this year, Jordan’s skills and understanding stood out throughout the process and he is a well-deserved winner,” claimed Academy Performance Manager, Alex Wurz.

“I have no doubt that Jordan, and the rest of the Academy drivers, will go on to achieve great success in motor sport and build on the foundations we have helped them create.”

As part of his award, King will be assisted by Wurz and Robert Reid, also an Academy Performance Manager, throughout the progression of his career. The two will ensure that King in given the opportunity to meet key people and continue to develop in the sport.

Away from his GP2 Series duties with Racing Engineering, 21-year-old King has also been working Manor F1 Team as a Development Driver and has been given a number of opportunities to work alongside the team as well as his teammate Rossi who was recently given the chance to replace Roberto Merhi and race in Formula 1 for the Manor team.

The final workshop in which the awards were announced, focused on advanced driving and all those involved participated in a mixture of theoretical and practical activities, as well as a karting race and a racetrack evaluation session.

King was one of 11 drivers to graduate from the 2015 program, each receiving a certificate to mark their achievements.